Crystalyn Hutchens is an Ohio-based semi-realistic artist who lives with several non-visible disabilities. Her artwork centers around bringing attention to individuals in the chronically ill and disabled communities who experience hidden disabilities. The human body in her work is used to create a language for the unseen impact of these disabilities from a female perspective as well as a visual for creating a purely bodily experience. Her paintings and drawings share different sides of the physical experience of illness and psychological struggle. Her style adds ambiguity to the body and at times shows erosion and chaos, a visual of the misunderstandings and missing representations of these individuals.
In her work, she strives to create pieces that all types of audiences can visually read to start a dialogue of understanding, compassion, representation, and connection. Her work has been exhibited in multiple regional and national juried exhibitions and has been recognized internationally with the Eco-Aware Art Gallery in India. In addition, she received the Inaugural Marian Treger Fellowship for Enduring Creativity from the Virginia Center of Creative Arts in 2022. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ohio University, her Master’s degree in 2D Art studies at Eastern Illinois University, and her Master of Fine Arts Degree at Bowling Green State University. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at Bowling Green State University School of Art.

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